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  “Let it go.”

  “I’m really sorry—”

  “Jesus.” He took her hand. “What does let it go mean?”

  Odd how she suddenly wanted to hug him, which would have to wait. For now, she squeezed his fingers, hoping she was imparting some comfort.

  His big, warm hand closed on hers, but he said nothing, whatever he was thinking lost behind his reflective sunglasses. His hair was blowing back, his shirt billowing out, and she took a good long look, struck by what he was doing for her. Without question, he’d put himself on the line. He had doubts, lots of them, but that hadn’t stopped him from being here for her.

  And she had to admit, it was a bit staggering. Suddenly, she wished she’d spent all of last night in his arms, that at the very least, she’d kissed him for longer when she’d had the chance on the charter boat.

  That she hadn’t yelled at him.

  Eyes on the man at the Jeep waiting for them, Brody lifted their joined hands to his mouth.

  Had he read her mind and was offering genuine comfort? Or had he just begun the acting portion of the program and was simply playing her husband?

  Then he turned his head, lifted his glasses, and met her gaze, his own steady and sure. “You okay?”

  She swallowed the unexpected and slightly horrifying lump in her throat. “Always.”

  He smiled, the one she’d seen a thousand times over the past year. The one that said he was on top of his world and knew it, the one that said that on his watch, nothing would go wrong.

  He was truly there for her, and for that moment, Maddie couldn’t seem to muster up Leena’s persona, not to save her life. For that one beat, she was Maddie, just Maddie, and she could only stare at him, wanting him, caring about him, completely overcome with emotion and desperately trying to beat it back.

  God, she needed a grip, a big one. “Brody?” she whispered.

  “Yes?” His mouth quirked again. “Wife?”

  Was it wrong that from deep, deep down came a longing and a yearning she couldn’t explain, except that for the first time in her life, she liked the sound of that W word?

  Wife.

  Clearly, she was losing her mind. She looked out at the water. “This island, this compound . . . it was my childhood home.”

  “You’ve said.”

  “It wasn’t a happy place.”

  He’d been eyeing MIB at the Jeep, but met her gaze, his own solemn and surprisingly understanding. “I’m getting that loud and clear.”

  She had no idea why she was going to tell him this. Maybe so he could really understand the need to pull this off, maybe because she had to explain the danger she was putting him in so that if he wanted to walk away, he could.

  And that maybe he should do exactly that, walk away. “I don’t know if my father was a bad guy or not. I was too young when he died, but Rick . . .”

  “Bad seed. Got that, too.”

  “Yeah. And . . .”

  “And . . .”

  She shook her head. “And I should never have let you come with me.”

  Once again, he glanced at the man waiting for them. “Are you trying to warn me that it could get messy? Because I already figured that part out on my own.”

  It was why he’d come. That much was all over his face. “I wish I could give you an out.”

  Putting his hands on her arms, he looked into her eyes. “You really think I’d walk away to let you face this on your own?”

  “What I think is that you should have.”

  “Yeah, well, think again.”

  She nodded, swallowed hard. “You should probably know, it didn’t go so well last time I was here.”

  “Yes, but you’re no longer sixteen and helpless. And you’re no longer alone.”

  Amazingly enough, the truth of that helped.

  So did he by just being at her side.

  “Let’s do this,” he said, “and get back to the one aspect of our marriage that I can really get behind.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The good stuff.”

  Chapter 18

  Maddie laughed as Brody had clearly intended. “The good stuff?” she repeated.

  “Sure. You promised to love, cherish, and do good stuff. It was all in our vows.”

  “Huh.” She knew what he was doing, trying to take her mind off the dangers facing her. I must have missed that part.”

  “You should have paid attention. You promised all sorts of things.”

  “Like?”

  He waggled his eyebrow, and if they weren’t facing imminent trouble with a capital T, she would have shivered in anticipation. “You really are crazy,” she managed.

  “Which isn’t going to get you out of the vows, babe.”

  She laughed again, and he smiled, looking hot and sexy and cocky.

  But it was pretend.

  This was all pretend. Their lives depended on it. “Let’s go,” he said, taking their bags, slinging them over his shoulder, and reaching for her hand. Everything about him shouted alpha male.

  He wasn’t the only one. Moving back toward the Jeep, Maddie looked at Rick’s man. He wasn’t all that tall, but he was definitely built like a linebacker. Maddie didn’t recognize him, but she recognized his type. All hired muscle and silent servitude.

  And suddenly, she didn’t have to fake the nerves Leena would have shown. Did Leena know this man? She had no way of knowing, but her sister was such a snob—a submissive snob, but a snob nevertheless—and as such, would have ignored all the hired help. Easy enough to imitate.

  “Are you really married?” he asked her.

  She didn’t look at Brody. “Yes.”

  A smile split his mouth. “I won the pool then. Sweet.”

  “You . . . bet on me?”

  “We all did. No one could see you hitched for real, but I thought it was way too inventive a lie for you, so . . .” He shrugged. “I win.”

  The familiarity was obvious. Leena did know this man, possibly well.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “Rick hates to be kept waiting, you know that.”

  Be Leena. Her sister was quiet, yes, but she definitely had an attitude, always had. “Too bad.”

  The man sighed. “So getting married didn’t improve your mood any.” He gestured her into the Jeep, then eyed Brody with an expression that said, and you put up with this why?

  Just grateful to have pulled off the first hurdle, Maddie slid into the Jeep.

  “Given Leena’s aversion to men,” their driver said, “Rick figured it was just a bullshit excuse to be late, or to get more money out of him.”

  Maddie glanced back and nearly had a heart attack. He and Brody were having a stare down. MIB’s dark lenses were over his eyes, and there was the obvious bulge of a weapon at his shoulder, but her “husband” didn’t seem overly intimidated.

  Oh, not good. Not good at all. Leena would marry someone quiet like herself. Meek. Reaching out for Brody’s hand, she practically yanked him on top of her. “Baby, hurry up. It’s hot out here. My makeup’s going to run.”

  He shot her a look, but some of her fear must have shown because he slipped an arm around her shoulders and said nothing.

  While all that he wanted to say crackled in the silence.

  MIB slid into the driver’s seat, watching them through his rearview mirror with great interest. “Trouble in paradise already? Shocking, Leena.”

  She wanted to snarl, but she wasn’t supposed to be herself so she thrust her nose in the air and looked out the window in pouting silence.

  Leena. She was Leena . . .

  MIB put the Jeep in gear and drove them along the secluded beach, past the sparkling, clear azure waters, up the single hill on the island. Surrounded on both sides by the lush, colorful growth, they came out of the woods at a pair of stone and wrought-iron guarded gates that opened in silent invitation, leading to a long driveway arching up to the house.

  Though house seemed far too meek a word for the 25,000-square-f